Meeting the Other in Norse Myth and Legend

By John McKinnell

Close examination of the significant theme of other-worldly encounters in Norse myth and legend, including giantesses, monsters and the Dead.

A particular, recurring feature of Old Norse myths and legends is an encounter between creatures of This World gods and human beings] and those of the Other giants, giantesses, dwarves, prophetesses, monsters and the dead]. Concentrating on cross-gendered encounters, this book analyses these meetings, and the different motifs and situations they encompass, from the consultation of a prophetess by a king or god, to sexual liaisons and return from the dead. It considers the evidence for their pre-Christian origins, discusses how far individual poets and prose writers were free to modify them, and suggests that they survived in medieval Christian society because like folk-tale] they provide a non-dogmatic way of resolving social and psychological problems connected with growing up, succession from one generation to the next, sexual relationships and bereavement.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1843840421
• ISBN13: 9781843840428
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
• Length: 302 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.5" x 9.3"